1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to photographic slide mounting apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Photographic slides are produced by mounting a photographic film transparency in a slide mount frame so that the image of the photographic transparency is aligned with the aperture of the frame. A variety of different types of mounting frames and mounting apparatus have been developed.
One particularly advantageous type of photographic slide mount is the Pakon slide mount, which is a one-piece plastic slide mount sold by Pako Corporation, the assignee of the present application. The film transparency is mounted by opening a film insertion slot in the slide mount by means of mounting equipment. The transparency slides into the mount and the mount is closed. The spring-like properties of the plastic slide mount material provides a safe and tight fit of the transparency in the slide mount without the need of welding or sealing.
U.S. patents showing slide mounts and slide mounting apparatus of this general type include the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Florjancic et al 3,341,960, Mundt et al 3,470,642, Mundt et al 3,478,456, Mundt et al 3,524,299, Mundt et al 3,562,074, Mundt 3,570,342, Mundt et al 3,614,854, Florjancic 3,788,031, Mundt et al 3,807,121, Mundt et al 3,943,029, Mundt et al 3,977,280, Urban 4,004,340, Urban et al 4,135,343.
Apparatus has been developed for both manual and automatic mounting of transparencies in Pakon slide mounts. The manual mounting procedure utilizes a handheld mounting device into which the slide mount is inserted. By grasping the mount and the mounter together at one side, the film insertion opening is widened to permit insertion of a transparency in the slide mount. The transparency has previously been cut from a strip of photographic film containing many individual transparencies and is inserted manually into the slide mount.
While the hand mounting apparatus and procedure is adequate for mounting small quantities of transparencies in slide mounts, it clearly is not suitable for large-scale production of mounted transparencies as is required in professional photofinishing laboratories. The Pakon Slide Mounter sold by Pako Corporation is an automatic, motor-driven apparatus which mounts photographic film transparencies in Pakon slide mounts at rates of up to 160 slides per minute.
In some cases, however, the quantity of slides to be mounted by a photofinishing laboratory is not large enough to justify the use of automatic slide mounting apparatus such as the Pakon Slide Mounter, yet is greater than that which can be efficiently performed manually. To meet this need, semi-automatic slide mounters have been developed, such as the Type 6001 and 7004 slide mounters developed by Geimuplast Peter Mundt KG. These semi-automatic slide mounters operate generally in a similar manner to the automatic Pakon Slide Mounter, but are driven by an operating handle which is moved by the operator, rather than being motor driven.
The Type 6001 and 7004 semi-automatic slide mounters are operated by moving the operating lever along a closed path through an operating cycle. During this cycle, the following five functions are performed. First, an insertion slot in a slide mount is widened to receive the transparency. Second, the film strip is advanced and inserted into the mount. Third, the transparency is severed from the remainder of the film strip. Fourth, the transparency is inserted completely into the slide mount. Fifth, the mounter ejects the mounted slide.
These five functions form a complete mounting cycle. The home position of the operating lever occurs between the second and third functions. The path of the operating handle during an operating cycle begins with a first path portion in which the handle is moved downward from the home position. During this first path portion of the cycle, the knife cuts the transparency from the film strip. The second portion of the path of the operating handle is a movement toward the operator. During this second path portion, the transparency is inserted completely into the mount, a new mount is advanced out of a slide mount holder (magazine) and along a slide track so as to eject the mounted slide. As the new slide mount is advanced along the slide track, the insertion slot of the new mount is widened to receive another transparency from the film strip. The third portion of the path of the operating handle involves an upward movement of the handle which causes the film cutter blade to be retracted. During the fourth and final portion of the path, the operating handle is moved away from the operator and back to the home position. During this fourth path portion, the film strip is advanced to insert a transparency at the end of the film strip into the slide mount.